Andrew Rhodes confirmed as Gambling Commission CEO on permanent basis

Andrew Rhodes was named interim CEO of the British regulator almost a year ago.

UK.- The Gambling Commission has confirmed that Andrew Rhodes has been appointed as the regulator’s permanent CEO after almost a year in the position on an interim basis. He was appointed last June following the sudden resignation of former chief executive Neil McArthur in March following the collapse of Football Index.

Rhodes, who’s previously served as chief register of the University of Swansea and as a senior officer for the Department for Work and Pensions, the Food Standards Agency and the DVLA, had accepted the interim position on an 18-month contract, but he is said to have impressed both colleagues at the regulator and the UK government’s Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport during his tenure so far.

His 12 months in the role required him to complete the regulator’s contribution’s the government’s review of gambling legislation. He also had to handle the contested National Lottery Licence Competition, which resulted in Allwyn being chosen to replace Camelot.

The Gambling Commission said in a statement: “Andrew will continue to work closely with chair Marcus Boyle, the Board of Commissioners, and the Commission’s senior leadership team to ensure Great Britain’s gambling industry is regulated strongly and effectively.

“He will also continue his stakeholder engagement programme with consumers, industry, parliamentarians and those with lived experience.”

Meanwhile, the Gambling Commission’s chairman, Marcus Boyle, who was appointed in September after the resignation of Bill Moyes, has suggested a new tougher approach to regulation. Writing an op-ed piece in The Times, he said the regulator would introduce cumulative fines and would require full oversight of corporate governance and personal accountability for the management of licences.

In April, Rhodes used his appearance at the ICE 2022 World Regulatory Briefing in London to call for international gambling regulators to collaborate to tackle new challenges brought by changes in the industry.

He voiced hope for collaboration not only in sharing experiences and best practice, but also to conduct joint investigations and actions.

He told attendees: “Many of the operators we deal with in Great Britain will be the same as those dealt with in other jurisdictions. Things that are not being done well here are likely to be issues in other countries, too, when you consider these are multinationals. I hope that we can get to a point of joint investigations and joint action and move beyond some of the good things we already do.”